EIL Intercultural Learning

When I chat with people about the prevelance of HIV & AIDS in Africa, usually their first response is to suggest that Africans are more promiscuous than Westerners. Columnist Kevin Myers, in the Irish Independent newspaper, described Africa as “almost an entire continent of sexually hyperactive indigents..." however, research highlighted by Helen Epstein in her comprehensive account of HIV & AIDS "The Invisible Cure" demonstrates that over the course of their lifetimes; the 'average' African has no more sexual partners than the 'average' Westerner.

Myers also stated that:"Africa is giving nothing to anyone – apart from AIDS ”. There are many theories on the original source of the virus, and while this may never be discovered, the reasons for its spread are necessary in order to combat the stigma surrounding HIV & AIDS.

The polio vaccine theory as the primary cause of HIV was first brought to light in a 1992 Rolling Stone article and was then expanded by former BBC journalist Edward Hooper in a 1999 book, titled "The River: A Journey Back to the Source of HIV and AIDS."

Evidence has shown that the original vaccine was not the primary cause of HIV but it has not ruled out that it may have fuelled the rapid spread of HIV. Tens of thousands of Africans were injected with the polio vaccine in the 1950s, a time when the same needle would have been used over and over again, without being cleaned. This may help to explain why HIV has infected so many people in Africa at such a fast pace. The "extensive use of reusable needles and syringes in mass-vaccination campaigns may also have played a part" in spreading the virus (Connor, London Independent).